Following an electric weekend sweep over Stanford, Virginia baseball took the field Tuesday afternoon looking to close out its four-game homestand with a midweek win over Old Dominion. The Cavaliers (16-11, 6-6 ACC) took control of the game early and did just that, continuing their midseason surge with a strong 11-5 win over the Monarchs (8-18, 4-5 Sun Belt).
A key reason for the victory was that the highly-talented offense did its part. When Virginia scores 10 or more runs, the Cavaliers are a perfect 10-0 in 2025.
Virginia scored in each of the first five innings behind the bats of sophomore infielder Eric Becker and junior outfielder Aidan Teel. The pair powered the Cavaliers, collecting seven of nine hits. They drove in five runs and scored five runs as well.
The resounding moment of the game came on Teel’s home run in the home half of the fifth that put this game out of Old Dominion’s reach, with the two-run shot putting Virginia ahead 9-0. Following his transition into the leadoff role, Teel has dominated and been a spark for the Cavaliers as they are 6-0 in games where he bats in that spot.
“Wherever you are in the lineup you have to do your job and get on base for your team,” Teel said. “I enjoy setting the tone in the leadoff spot and being aggressive from pitch one but if [Coach Brian O’Connor] bat me anywhere in the lineup, I would stay with the same approach and go to work for this team.”
Beyond the heroics from Teel and four hits from Becker, Virginia played an opportunistic brand of baseball — taking advantage of 11 walks and timely errors from Old Dominion in the opening innings.
On the mound, junior left-hander Bradley Hodges got the start for the Cavaliers and impressed — going 3.2 innings in the longest appearance of his career, striking out six hitters on two hits and not allowing an earned run.
“Hodges continues to improve and get better each time out there which was a real bright spot for us,” O’Connor said.
Virginia’s bullpen backed Hodges, although a seventh inning blow-up and another poor outing from junior two-way player Chris Arroyo is a potential cause for concern.
Arroyo entered the game looking to build momentum on the mound. Instead, he demonstrated poor command and a failure to execute. His outing was stained by allowing two walks, three hits and four earned runs, and O’Connor pulled Arroyo after just 0.2 innings. Sophomore Drew Koenen also struggled in relief of Arroyo, as he walked in two runs with bases-loaded walks and failed to record an out.
Junior Ryan Osinski ultimately escaped the inning and went on to close the game for the Cavaliers — providing length and stability at the back end of this Virginia bullpen.
Early this season, Virginia faltered in the face of opportunity, failing to execute in timely situations and seizing opportunities as they dropped consecutive midweek games to Richmond and Liberty in disappointing efforts. Tuesday’s win resembles growth and an understanding from O’Connor and his players that these games are instrumental in the team’s season outlook.
“What we did against Stanford was great but you have to sustain it, great ball clubs sustain energy and enthusiasm,” O’Connor said. “Our team responded today and that has been a trademark of our program for a long time.”
Coming into this homestand, the Cavaliers were searching for any semblance of a spark or fight. 43 runs, 52 hits and four wins later, it is apparent that Virginia baseball may have found its stride as they now boast an ACC-best four game winning streak.
Next, the Cavaliers will take their win streak to Raleigh, N.C. to take on NC State this weekend. With another chance to ascend the ACC standings, Virginia will aim to keep rolling offensively against a respected crew of opposing pitchers. First pitch Friday is at 6:00 p.m.
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